pets

The “Yoga With Cats” class has become a regular, sold-out feature at Good Mews Animal Foundation in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in just a few months since it launched.

In each class, up to 15 humans spend an hour getting zen with a some of the shelter’s feline residents. A certified yoga instructor guides the beginner level classes as the cats roam freely around the room – often stopping for a little class participation or maybe a nap.

“The cats are so curious. They are all up in your business but not in a bad way,” said shelter manager Lisa Johns. “It is also a fun way for people to interact with the cats. The cats get attention and get loved on and the people are in a calming environment where they can practice yoga and hang out. All and all, it is a fun experience if you are into yoga and you are a cat person.”

Each class costs $20 – and since the instructor is a Good Mews volunteer who donates her time, all of the proceeds go toward care of the cats.

A few months ago, the creators weren’t so sure the idea would take off with the public. They heard about a shelter in California that did something similar and decided to give it a try.

“We are always trying to get new people into the shelter,” said board member, Nancy Riley. “We started our first class in July, and now people are coming back month after month. The people love it, but the cats really love it. It is so fun to watch them.”

In any given class, at least five of the 15 attendees have never been to Good Mews shelter before offering the organization valuable exposure to new people and the potential to find more homes for their cats.

Some of the cats have become yoga regulars, as well. Sampson, an orange tabby, has participated in every class, often getting into poses with humans. During corpse pose (savasana) at end of class, Sampson and his fellow felines take the invitation to lie across the chest of the nearest yogi.

According to The Associated Press, a pet goat named Milly broke free from her Rohnert Park, California, home Sunday morning and ended up in an unlikely place – Starbucks.

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"Missing a goat?" the Rohnert Park Police and Fire Department posted on its Facebook page Sunday. "Imagine our dispatcher's surprise when she received a couple of calls early this morning advising there was a goat roaming around Wolf Den Plaza ... more specifically, the goat apparently needed a caffeine fix and had wandered INTO the Wolf Den Starbucks."

When Rohnert Park police Sgt. Rick Bates arrived, Starbucks employees were trying to feed Milly a banana, but she was more interested in a nearby box, he told the AP. He took the goat to the local animal shelter until the owner, Alan Ergenbright, got word and came to retrieve her.

“It took a while, I mean he was fast, he was running. We set up several road blocks, but he just ran right around them. Eventually, we were able to box him in. I used my jacket to distract him and the motor officer came up and took him into custody,” California Highway Patrol Officer Vu Williams told KGO-TV.

​HOT PURSUIT: A CHP officer said a chihuahua who led him on a c...HOT PURSUIT: A CHP officer said a chihuahua who led him on a chase down the Bay Bridge today, was so fast that not even road blocks stopped the little guy. http://abc7ne.ws/238Sr9QPosted by ABC7 News on Sunday, April 3, 2016

Facebook user Cody Viselli of Council Bluffs, Iowa, recently uploaded a hilarious video of his cowardly corgi fearfully fleeing from everyday household products, including paper towels, air freshener and a jar of mayo.

Watch out, Grumpy Cat: A new four-legged Internet celebrity may be rising through the ranks.

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In a hilarious YouTube video posted Aug. 19, an adorable pug dons a pair of hot pink sunglasses and takes to the drums to rock out to Metallica's "Enter Sandman." The clip of the little cutie has gone viral, with more than 744,000 views by Wednesday morning.

A group of fierce feline fashionistas got a chance to show off their supermodel style last week at the annual Cat Fashion Show at New York's Algonquin Hotel.

According to Vanity Fair, this year's event – a fundraiser for the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals and New York's first responders – featured cats dressed as firefighters, nurses and other civil servants.

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The show reportedly began in the 1930s as a tribute to Matilda, the hotel's "cat-in-residence." Today, Algonquin's third Matilda walks the halls.

A Chinese man recently got a beary shocking surprise when he discovered that two "puppies" he had raised for years were actually endangered black bears.

According to CCTV, Wang Kaiyu said he adopted the animals from a Vietnamese man about two years ago. Wang doted on the "well-behaved" cubs, which he thought were puppies, and groomed them daily.

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But as they got older, Wang began to notice some unusual qualities in his pets. The "puppies" developed large appetites and started killing Wang's chickens, the Daily Mail reports. Each pet also grew to 100 pounds.

According to the Daily Mail, Wang's stunning realization came after he read a Public Security Bureau pamphlet: His pets were Asian black bears, Category 2 protected endangered animals. Wang handed his pets over to the authorities, who took the animals to the Yunnan Wild Animal Rescue Center. A spokesman for the facility told the Daily Mail that both bears – one male and one female – are healthy and doing well.

A terminally ill shelter dog is taking his very own bucket-list adventure thanks to an animal lover in Columbus, Georgia.

According to WTVM, Nicole Elliott recently took in the dog, Chester, from the nonprofit organization Animal Ark, which had rescued him from a high-kill shelter.

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"He wasn't in the best shape," Elliott said of Chester, who is about 13 or 14 years old and has terminal cancer. "They bathed him and shaved away all of the matted, dirty hair. They found a very large tumor on his side and had it removed. Since then, they have shown up all over his body."

But for Elliott, it was love at first sight.

"I knew that it would be my responsibility to make his final days the best I could, to mine and his ability," she told WTVM. "I arrived before the shelter opened, and they let me in to get him. I fell in love the moment I saw him."

Right away, she planned several exciting surprises for the dog and shared them on a Facebook page called Chester's Final Journey. So far, Chester has gone on a shopping spree for treats and toys, taken an oatmeal bath, ridden in a car with the windows down, and munched on a Nathan's Hot Dog and doggie sundae. Next up? A nice dinner, beach day and birthday party.

A time-lapse video of an adopted kitten, Koda, and his best friend, Keelo the golden retriever, has gone viral, raking in more than 830,000 views since it was first posted last month.

The montage shows the pair's friendship evolve over eight months.

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According to the Huffington Post, the pets' owner, Trisha de La Paz of the Philippines, and her brother found Koda in an empty lot near their home last year. After they took him in, the new kitten immediately bonded with Keelo, now 6.

"Twenty minutes later, they were cuddling on the floor," de la Paz told the Huffington Post. "They have been inseparable ever since."

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Learn more about Keelo and Koda on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. They also have a new brother, Drogon.